Teachers' perspectives on the implementation of the new national curriculum - Dataset from Vietnam

This dataset provides insightful data on the reality of the new national curriculum implementation from primary and secondary school teachers’ perspectives. The dataset addresses four main aspects of the new curriculum implementation from teachers’ perspectives: (a) teachers' capacity in implementing the new curriculum, (b) teaching conditions in implementing the new curriculum, (c) challenges for teachers in implementing the new curriculum, and (d) teachers' desires to implement the new national curriculum successfully. The survey tools used to collect the data were developed based on a literature review of implementing a new curriculum from teachers’ assessment. The survey was conducted online via Google Forms from November to December 2022, with 29,026 primary and secondary school teachers in five provinces of Vietnam participating. The dataset is expected to benefit policymakers and educational administrators by providing information on key areas where teachers require support and training to improve the implementation of the new curriculum. Additionally, the dataset contributes to developing evidence-based policies and interventions to support teachers in implementing the new curriculum. Educational managers and researchers can benefit from this dataset by gaining insights and preparing adequately for implementing new curriculum or developing plans to improve curriculum development. Overall, this dataset provides valuable information for improving the effectiveness of implementing the new national curriculum.


b s t r a c t
This dataset provides insightful data on the reality of the new national curriculum implementation from primary and secondary school teachers' perspectives. The dataset addresses four main aspects of the new curriculum implementation from teachers' perspectives: (a) teachers' capacity in implementing the new curriculum, (b) teaching conditions in implementing the new curriculum, (c) challenges for teachers in implementing the new curriculum, and (d) teachers' desires to implement the new national curriculum successfully. The survey tools used to collect the data were developed based on a literature review of implementing a new curriculum from teachers' assessment. The survey was conducted online via Google Forms from November to December 2022, with 29,026 primary and secondary school teachers in five provinces of Vietnam participating. The dataset is expected to benefit policymakers and educational administrators by providing information on key areas where teachers require support and training to improve the implementation of the new curriculum. Additionally, the dataset contributes to developing evidence-based policies and interventions to support teachers in implementing the new curriculum. Educational managers and researchers can benefit from this dataset by gaining insights and preparing adequately for implementing new curriculum or developing plans to improve curricu-

Value of the Data
• The dataset is expected to make methodological and practical contributions to the study of the new curriculum implementation from teachers' perspectives. • The dataset provides a large-scale database of primary and secondary school teachers' evaluations regarding the implementation of the new national curriculum in Vietnam. • The dataset's findings can be used to develop evidence-based policies and interventions to support teachers in implementing the new curriculum effectively and to enhance the overall quality of education in Vietnam. • The data collection method uses a survey created based on the theory of educational implementation, as well as a literature review, providing a reliable and valid tool and research process for collecting data. • The dataset adds empirical evidence to the reality of new curriculum implementation which can benefit future research. Vietnamese and international researchers and educa-tors can use the data to design new curriculum, propose strategies to limit challenges and enhance the effectiveness of new curriculum implementation.

Data Description
The dataset, which is available on Mendeley data [4] , provides valuable insights into the reality of implementation of the new curriculum in Vietnam from teachers' viewpoints. It includes a comprehensive questionnaire with 64 items, along with a raw data file containing 29,026 responses The raw data consists of two sheets: Sheet 1 contains the codebook, providing the main content of each question and its corresponding coded responses. Sheet 2 contains the raw data with teachers' answers, encoded according to the codebook. The questionnaire is structured into five groups, consisting of (a) demographic information of participating teachers, (b) teachers' capacity in implementing the new curriculum, (c) teaching conditions in implementing the new curriculum, (d) challenges faced by teachers in implementing new curriculum, and (e) teachers' desires to implement the new curriculum successfully. The demographic items are in the form of selected responses, while the remaining items are in the form of 5-point Likert statements.
The first section of collected data pertained to the gender, teaching grade, and place of residence of the participating teachers, as shown in Table 1 . Additionally, this section provided information on the age and teaching experience, as well as the teaching qualifications of the respondents. It also indicated whether teachers had received training related to educational aspects such as curriculum, teaching methods, or classroom management. These demographic details can be examined for any correlations with other questionnaire items. The first section includes 15 items, ranging from Question 1 to Question 8 in the codebook. 12,532 4921 * The gender disparity between female and male teachers in the surveyed population reflects the natural imbalance in the proportion of female and male teachers in Vietnam, as the data was collected using a cluster sampling method. According to the data from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, in general education, female teachers make up nearly 70% of the total number of teachers, while the remaining 30% are male teachers.
The second group of information, consisting of 12 items, focused on teachers' capacity to implement the new curriculum. This group assessed their understanding of subject objectives, teaching methods, and assessment, as well as their confidence in conducting educational activities. Data on these aspects are presented in Questions 9.1 to 9.4 and Questions 10.1 to 10.8 in the codebook.
In the third section of the questionnaire, consisting of 7 items, teachers were asked to indicate the extent of their satisfaction with the teaching conditions for implementing the new curriculum. This included aspects such as their working hours, salary, and allowances (Questions 11.1 to 11.3). Additionally, they were asked to evaluate the adequacy of school facilities, such as the quality and quantity of classrooms, function rooms, teaching equipment, and learning resources (Questions 12.1 to 12.4).
The fourth group of information focused on the challenges faced by teachers in implementing the new curriculum. It encompassed designing lesson plans, teaching methods, and assessing student learning. Additionally, it explored the factors contributing to difficulties and challenges in adopting the new national curriculum. The data collected in these areas are presented in the raw data file with 23 items, ranging from Questions 13.1 to 13.9 and Questions 14.1 to 14.14 in the dataset. Table 2 illustrates the differences in teachers' challenges in implementing the new curriculum across different regions.  The final group of information consisted of 7 items designed to assess teachers' desires to effectively im plement the new national curriculum. This data is shown in the raw data file from Question 15.1 to Question 15.7.

Experimental Design, Materials and Methods
The implementation of a new national curriculum is a major educational transformation that demands significant effort s from all those involved [2 , 6] . Teachers, as key players, may encounter many challenges in the process [1 , 5] . Understanding these challenges is essential for improving the effectiveness of educational reforms and ensuring its successful implementation [12] . The main data collection tool was thoughtfully and extensively designed based on several relevant theories and a review of the relevant literature on teachers' assessments of implementing the new curriculum. Firstly, the theory of curriculum implementation suggests that the successful implementation of a new curriculum depends on factors such as teacher capacity, resource availability, and school support [11] . Secondly, the theory of teacher professional development emphasizes the importance of teacher knowledge and skills in successful curriculum implementation [7 , 10] . Thirdly, the study draws from social cognitive theory, which posits that self-efficacy plays a significant role in the success of individuals in various domains, including teaching [3] . Finally, the study adopts the concept of school effectiveness, which highlights the importance of school resources and conditions in achieving educational goals [8 , 9] .
In terms of sampling, the study targeted teachers in grades 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7 who have been implementing the new curriculum since the 2020-2021 school year. To ensure the currency and validity of the data collection tool, a literature review was conducted, and experts were consulted to inform the questionnaire design. The questionnaire was then adapted into an online survey format with a combination of mandatory and optional questions to be administered on Google Forms. Before being distributed to the Departments of Education and Training for approval to be administered on a large scale, the questionnaire was piloted on 68 teachers and revised for wording and item number to improve its quality. The questionnaire demonstrated high internal consistency, with a Cronbach's alpha value of 0.973.
To collect data, the study selected five provinces, including Hung Yen, Lao Cai, Nghe An, Kien Giang, and Ho Chi Minh City. These provinces were chosen because they are representative of various geographic areas throughout Vietnam, including Northern, Central, and Southern Vietnam, as well as rural, urban, and mountainous areas. Teachers from these provinces, who represent different locality types, ages, and working experiences, participated in the survey. The project information and consent forms were included with the link and sent to the teachers. The study received a total of 30,100 responses, of which 1074 were removed due to missing data. The final dataset analysed included 29,026 responses and was analysed using IBM SPSS Version 26.

Limitations
This study was conducted through an online questionnaire, which may have posed certain difficulties for teachers in answering the questions, potentially affecting the quality of some responses for teachers with limited access to or proficiency in information technology. Additionally, since this is a self-reported study conducted by teachers, there may be limitations due to self-report bias. However, this limitation does not significantly impact the accuracy and credibility of the data, as the survey was conducted on a large sample, and moreover, the study aimed to explore the challenges that teachers themselves perceive when implementing the new curriculum.

Ethics Statements
The Ethics Committee of the Vietnam National Institute of Educational Sciences approved and monitored the procedure for conducting this research (ethics approval number: B2022.VKG.05.GRANTED). The procedure for collecting data strictly adhered to the ethical guidelines and regulations of the committee in charge. Teachers were fully informed of the research and asked for their consent before answering the questionnaire. We ensured that the participants' anonymity and confidentiality were maintained throughout the research process.

Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Data Availability
Dataset from Vietnam: Challenges in Implementing the New National Curriculum from Teachers' Perspective (Original data) (Mendeley Data).